password manager – minimal effort; awesome security

This weeks topic in minimal security is on password managers. I have a few older post where I talk about passwords and tools or the importance of strong passwords. I want to reiterate password managers this week and give a clear recommendation. If you are curious why you should care about your password read my previous post. Your password is your gatekeeper to your online accounts, your information and therefore your life. I can not stress their importance enough because they really protect you from a myriad of bad things. Also, people still fail to create strong and different passwords for each site they use. That is why everyone should use a password manager. I also know that people are reluctant to paying for software.

Fear not! There are free and secure possibilities out there. A password manager I have used myself for the past year or two is Enpass. It takes care of all my passwords and it also lets me sync them between all my devices. Neato! All it takes to generate awesome passwords is this little tool. Once you installed the application and the accompanying browser extension you can start to use a unique password for each website. If you need access to the passwords on other devices you can also sync between them. Your data is only decrypted on your device and therefore not readable by anyone, even if you store it on your iCloud. So in order to drastically increase your online security, follow these steps:

Choose a very strong master passphrase (a unique phrase that only you can remember or something longer than 12 characters – for simple words you add special characters – however, just use phrases)

Install the extension in your browser

Enjoy increased security with zero effort

Synchronize with other devices

Additional Information

The reason why your master password is so important is, because it is the one single (and most important) key to your password-kingdom. If you lose it, you lose access to all your saved passwords. Therefore, it can be wise to write down the master password on paper and save it in a hidden spot where only you are able to retrieve it.

An additional pro-tip is to set a shortcut for your browser extension. Once you did that, logging in becomes a matter of microseconds (given a previously unlocked password manager). Pair this with auto-deleting cookies for increased browser tacking protection. Although I have to constantly log into websites again, using my password manager it is no hassle at all.

The last piece of information is about the security of your data when you sync it with a cloud service. While there are online password managers they come with their own risks. If many people store their credentials in one place, this place becomes a juicy target for hackers. That happened to Lastpass in the past. If you use Enpass and sync with a cloud service your data is only sent to the cloud encrypted with the master password you chose. Your cloud provider is not able to read the passwords and even if a hack would occur, your passwords are safe. When you synchronize your data to another device, the data is going to be downloaded and you will be prompted to input your master password. Only then is the data decrypted. It hope now it is clear why your master password is such an important piece of information.

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